Reflection of the Day: Friday, March 15th

A lot of my research and work of late has been focused on finding a better way to teach PE. I have been downloading a number of Kindle books in order to find research that is relevant to a new model of instruction I am trying to create and test out. Often times this requires me to go outside the realm of PE in order to find excellent ideas or models that I can then transfer over to the arena of physical education. 

One of the authors that I have come across is Angela Maiers, an educational consultant and motivational speaker. As I read her book, the 'Classroom Habitudes', I realized that much of what she writes about is immediately applicable in PE. She essentially highlights 7 habits and attitudes of successful learners and explains why these ‘Habitudes’ (as she calls them), need to be developed within the students we teach. As she points out, it is not only critical to better develop these habitudes within our students, but also within ourselves as well if we are to continue to grow within our role as educators. 

I have found her book to be an excellent resource and I highly recommend it. As Angela Maiers states, the 7 habitudes are as follows: Imagination, Curiosity, Self-Awareness, Courage, Adaptability, Perseverance, and Passion. 

There is no doubt in my mind that creating as many opportunities as possible to address and teach these 7 habitudes to our students will, without question, increase the value in any physical education program, regardless of curriculum requirements. 

As I have stated many times in the past on my blog, developing skills such as the 7 habitudes and other related enduring concepts play just a pivotal a role in physical education. Of course, learning sport related skills is also important, but as students walk away from our PE programs, what is that we want them to take with them that will best prepare them for the future? A question to think about and I would love to hear your answers! Send me your answers and I will post them or add your opinions to the comment box below